Super Silver Haze Flowering

Hybrid teas, with their beautifully formed buds and the elegant, lasting color of their petals, are the most suitable roses for displaying in a vase. Some are also slightly fragrant, and some are very fragrant. Most classic hybrid teas have a single flower (which can be fully double) at the end of a more or less straight stem, so they Make particularly good cut flowers.

Most of these are varieties which grow in the garden without too many problems, rather than commercially grown roses that have been forced in greenhouses exclusively for cutting. Always cut roses in the early morning, when they're covered in dew- they'll have absorbed plenty of water from the soil, and this is when they'll be at their best. Put them in water as soon as possible. Don't cut too long a stem, as this will weaken the rose by depriving it of leaves. It may also be a good idea to leave roses alone for the first year after planting so they can build up their strength and produce an abundance of flowers in subsequent years.

However, hybrid teas aren't the only roses that look good in a vase. Modern shrub roses are ideal, and some of them flower in the garden before the first hybrid teas. One of the best from this point of view is Rosa bugonis, the Golden Rose of China. Another yellow-flowered rose suitable for cutting is R. pimpinellifolia 'Maigold', which has semi-double flowers. And for a really good fragrance, try cutting R. centiplia muscosa, preferably with short stems so they don't wilt. There are plenty of other shrub roses which make good cut flowers, such as the highly fragrant 'La Reine Victoria' with its large pink flowers, and the rambling rose 'The New Dawn', with delicate pink, fully double flowers. There are even mar floribundas, such as 'Anna which can be cut.

In hybrid teas, the side buds are pinched out to obtain longer, straighter stems- in floribundas and shrub roses, the opposite is true. The leading bud is removed as soon as a large number of side buds have come into flower. You should also remove all green buds where there is no sign of any color appearing. This reduces evaporation, and makes the stems last longer when they are eventually cut.

Steven is a gardener by trade and a writer in his spare time. Check out his other articles on gardening in his profile as well his new websites on and .